Social media has become an important part of any business’ digital marketing plan. Social media is all about staying connected with your customers, and in today’s world of instant gratification, you can’t afford to miss out.
What is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing refers to a business’ use of social networks and platforms to engage in online marketing. Social media marketing plays an important role in lead-generation, customer service and brand building.
Why Social Media Marketing is Important?
Why use social media for marketing? Well, social media marketing can help you reach an audience of millions and get them engaging with your brand. Additionally, social media sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more offer companies the opportunity to create/join targeted groups as well as advertise and target their audience by location, age and interests. Although social media advertising can be costly, for some companies the ROI is well worth it.
How effective is Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is very effective. Perhaps the biggest benefit is that it provides exposure for your brand – allowing you create brand awareness and gives you a voice in your marketplace that you can use to connect with people as well as build trust and loyalty for your brand. Social Media Marketing has also been recognized as the leading source for increasing website traffic, generating leads/customers, booking appointments and so much more – ultimately growing revenues. Finally, Social Media Marketing provides an informal line of communication for you to build and strengthen relationships with stakeholders – you can use social platforms to do more than just post – you can host discussions, network and gather feedback.
How to do Social Media Marketing?
How to use social media for marketing is a common question nowadays. The best way is to think like your customer – not like a salesperson. Start by considering what kind of content your target audience like to engage with. If you’re selling travel packages online, for example, you might want to post photos of exotic destinations and share tips on where to go and what to do when traveling. If you’re selling pet supplies online, you’ll want to share photos of cute animals and provide helpful tips on caring for your pet.
Start creating a library of both text-based and visual content, including photos, videos, graphics, webinars, explainers (the more the better). At the beginning you’ll want to create a variety of content tones such as informational, humorous, news, explainers, challenges, and questions/polls. The idea is to let your market tell you what content most appeals to them. If you are using a smart social media tool such as the Scrape Inc. platform, you can utilize the analytics feature to measure performance and see which posts generate the most engagement and actions so that you can create more of those (the key is not to guess, always use data to make decisions).
You can also use social media marketing as an opportunity to interact with your customers in real time. For example, if someone posts a picture of their dog wearing one of your products, you could comment on the post with a thank-you note or offer them some coupons for future purchases. It’s always good practice to thank people for sharing their thoughts about your business!
How to Automate Social Media Marketing?
There are many tools that allow companies to post and monitor their engagement across multiple social platforms. For example, the Scrape Inc. customer portal allows a company to connect all their social platforms, create a content calendar that automatically posts regularly, monitor the engagement of each post as well as monitor industry discussions and respond to comments or other posts all from one place.
How to Improve Social Media Marketing?
Social media marketing is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. It goes beyond just posting pictures and videos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram—companies must effectively:
- Maintain and optimize all social media profiles across various platforms
- Post a variety of pictures, stories, and videos on an ongoing basis
- Ensure all content represents the brand and attracts relevant audience
- Respond to comments, shares, and likes
- Monitor their online reputation.
- Follow and engage with followers, customers, and influencers to build a community around your brand.
Using video in Email Marketing and Social Media
Ever since Cisco published its study on the most consumed content on the internet, we’ve been seeing an uptick in people’s interest in video. And we’re not talking about just watching cat videos—though those are totally fine, too! We mean corporate videos, explainer videos, product demos, and more. It turns out that people are attracted to stories that resonate with them and make them feel something. Videos are a great way to do this because they’re like mini plays or movies—they have a beginning, middle, and end that are all tied up neatly. And by giving your audience something to relate to (or laugh at), you can make your content much more engaging for them. You can also use video to set yourself apart from other companies who might be offering similar products or services.
What is a Social Media Marketing Strategy?
When it comes to social media marketing, there are three main types of social media strategies. It is important to note that these strategies are not mutually exclusive. In fact, many of our clients find that combining them is the most effective way to grow their brand online!
- Organic marketing—this is when you create content and post it on social media without paying for advertising.
- Paid social media advertising—this is when you pay for your content to appear in front of large volumes of highly targeted users.
- Influencer marketing—this involves finding people with large followings who are interested in what you have to offer and then paying them to promote your products/services or blog posts by sharing them on their accounts as well as posting about them themselves (usually with an image or video).
And Finally… How much does Social Media Marketing Cost.
While we cannot speak for any other social media marketing agency, we can certainly share how much social media marketing costs at Scrape Inc. The numbers below can vary based on additional requirements that our clients may require:
- Technology Only Option -$50 per month
For clients who use the Scrape Inc. Tool to manage their own platforms. The tool has many great features including; - The ability to post across multiple social media platforms from one place
- Track engagement and activity of all your posts over any period of time
- Compare which posts are the most impactful for your business
- Set keywords and view industry news/ announcements that you can use for more posts!
- Respond to comments and likes from one platform
- Follow other pages and comment on their content from one platform
- Participate in industry conversations
- Monthly Social Media Posting -Starting at $800 per month
This option takes social media posting off your plate – Scrape Inc. will do the research, develop the strategy, implement it and continuously monitor and improve it. This option includes: - 1 Hour Social Media Strategy Development and Reporting Meeting Every Month
- A number of posts per week (variables apply here)
- A number of comments/ industry discussion participation per week (variables apply here)
- Reporting
- Social Media Advertising Campaigns -Starting at $900 per campaign
We know that running a digital advertising campaign can be overwhelming. Our team of certified specialists are ready to step in and take over the job of running your social media ads across multiple platforms, making the most of your budget to serve ads to the right audience. This option includes: - A dedicated Ad Specialist
- 5 Platforms to Choose from for Your Ads
- 1 Hour Social Media Advertising Strategy Development and Reporting Meeting Every Month
- Keyword/ Competitor Research
- Smart Optimization and Ad Proofing
- Reporting
The key to thriving with Social Media Marketing is consistency and increased participation. You have to do more than just post and hope for the best. Imagine growing your brand and followers on social media without having to do anything 😊 We could take away the burden of managing your social media marketing and help you grow your network, attract relevant leads and increase your sales.
If done right—and done consistently—social media marketing will yield results.
Email contact@scrapeinc.com to discuss your social media marketing requirements today.